iPlayer generated 9.9 million daily requests last month, the highest in its 10-year history, thanks in no small way to Hardy's tale of a haunted 19th-century man who returns to London from Africa to claim his father's shipping empire. Taboo also airs on FX in the US.

It was not the only drama on the list. In fact, iPlayer's top 20 shows were all dramas last month as hunger for scripted content continues among British viewers.

Here were the top five shows on iPlayer in a record-breaking month for the video player, ranked in ascending order by number of requests.